Golokathon

Horn Dog

Horn Dog

Joined
Sep 9, 2005
Messages
4,363
Here it is, the big golok comparison I've been working on. I have assembled six of the best known goloks to compare their performance. Left to right:
David Farmer's Dangerous Curves, Hopkinson Special Forces, Bark River, Martindale #2, Valiant Survival, and Condor.
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When I unsheathed them, it was obvious that these blades have different shapes. We have two styles here: The Parang style of the Martindale, Farmer, and Hopkinson, and the traditional Borneo stye of the Condor, Bark River, and Valiant Survival.

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The Condor is the longest and heaviest golok here with a blade 14 3/4" long, 2" wide, and tapering from .25" to .125" from tang to point. It weighs 22 oz and is 20.75" long overall. Steel is 1070?. I forget. Handle is hardwood.
Next biggest is the Valiant at 19.75" long with a full convexed spring steel blade 13 5/8" long and 1 5/8" wide at the widest point. The blade tapers from .25" to .1". This is a light fast golok that only weighs 16 oz with its traditional buffalo horn handle.
The Martindale #2 is next in size with a 13" blade of Sheffield carbon steel that is 1 7/8" wide and tapers from 5/32" thick to 3/32". Handle is wood. It weighs 17 oz.
The Hopkinson SF golok is as heavy as the Condor, at 22 oz, with an 11" long blade that widens to 2 1/4". The blade is Sheffield steel and .20" thick. The handle is rubber.
The Bark River is another light one at about 16 oz with an 11" full convex blade of 1095 steel. It is 1 7/16" wide and has micarta handles. The blade is .22" thick and does not have a distal taper.
The smallest and lightest golok here is the Farmer with a 10 3/8" long blade about 5/32" thick. The blade is convexed and very thin edged. I think it is 1095 steel. This 16 oz golok is 16 3/8" long overall. It handles the lightest of all those here balancing just in front of the micarta scales.
 
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Sorry to do it this way, but this comparison has lots of pictures, so I'll have to break it up into about five sections. I took the little Farmer golok out and chopped some Red Bay to use in my testing. This little knife can chop. It bites deep with each swing, much like a very sharp camp machete.
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With some wood gathered, I compared the Farmer with the Martindale and the Hopkinson.
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All three chopped well. The Martindale was the least comfortable to chop with, and the Farmer the most comfortable. Despite the extra weight of the Hopkinson and a very nice convex edge, the Farmer did as well. The Farmer is a pure joy to use. The Martindale chopped fine, but was really hard on my hand with the most shock and vibration of the three.
 
I love my Bark River golok. I compared it with the Farmer. Both are light and fast in the hand. Both slashed light vegetation well. Both weigh about the same. And guess what? Both chopped about the same as well. But as my hands grew sweaty, I was wishing for that traditional golok shape of the Condor and Valiant handles. But the micarta scales stayed grippy and I did not lose either golok during extended chopping in the South Georgia heat.
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So which do I prefer? In all honesty, I don't know. They were about dead even in chopping and comfort. These are both a cut above the Martindale and Hopkinson, and they should be for the price. I think I like the BRKT just a bit better, but that may be because I am used to it. Both of these would be great for hikers and backpakers. They are light, fast and sharp.
 
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Time to take out the big boys for some serious chopping. The Condor is a chopping beast. I have taken down full grown trees with it. The Valiant is brand new. Thankfully, it came very sharp. No touch up needed on this convex beauty. Both of these goloks chopped well, but the Condor repeatedly chopped through in less chops.
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I ran out of wood and used to the Valiant to get some more.
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The valiant has the most comfortable handle of all the goloks here, but its slick surface does not provide as good a grip as the Condor.
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The Valiant really slashed vegetation well, a bit better than the heavier Condor, but the Condor out chops it.
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At this point, some will want to know which golok is the best chopper overall. After a few hours use, I can say that it is the Condor. The big handle lets me put some serious muscle into each blow, and the long heavy blade just does more work with less effort than any of the others.
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The Martindale and the Hopkinson are about even. Both are good, inexpensive tools. But both required extensive reprofiling of the edges to make them chop well. The Farmer is a surprise. It is lighter and shorter than either the Martindale or the Hopkinson, and can out chop them both. The Farmer is the equal of my much loved Bark River golok. The one I used today belongs to TonyM and came with a nice leather sheath and baldric. I did not use the baldric today and wouldn't with such a light knife.
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Fanciest sheath prize goes to the Valiant's wood and horn sheath. Just don't turn it upside down or the golok will fall out.
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The BRKT came with a nice leather Sharpshooter sheath.
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The Condor did not come with a sheath, but fits in my Martindale bolo machete sheath.
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The Martindale came with a canvass sheath with a pouch and file. Not bad.
And the Hopkinson golok sheath is really an old RTAK sheath I had. It did not fit the sheath that came with it.
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I am sure I forgot to mention something. Thanks to Tony for letting me enjoy the Farmer golok. I will clean it up and polish the edge. I'm sending it to JoeZilla for some live action video testing.
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Great stuff Vic! I always love your big chopper reviews, and these were some awesome blades to put against each other.

However......I am just a bit concerned. Usually such a massive chopo-comparison would involve beer and women. Is everything okay? :D :D :D

B
 
Brian Andrews said:
Great stuff Vic! I always love your big chopper reviews, and these were some awesome blades to put against each other.

However......I am just a bit concerned. Usually such a massive chopo-comparison would involve beer and women. Is everything okay? :D :D :D

B
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Oh yeah. The beer and women come later. :D
 
Wow, great testing! Getting that Condor soon, just waiting for other stuff to arrive.

Thanks for the informative review of how they chop!
 
I suppose it might be useful for me to mention what I liked or disliked about each golok I tested today.

Valiant: Wow. I am impressed. I can see now why Mike Stewart used this design in his golok blade. It came with a super sharp edge, and that handle is the most comfortable one to chop with. It slashes vegetation very well, like the Bark River, and is second only to the Condor in pure chopping power. The workmanship is very fine. I need to figure out some way to retain the knife in the sheath. It is a very loose fit and the knife falls out easily.

Martindale: A very basic tool. If you want it to chop, you must put a good edge on it yourself. It will chop well then, but the handle is the least comfortable one here. It did come with a useful sheath that included a file.

Hopkinson: This is a blade-heavy golok. Like the Martindale, it needs a lot of work on the edge to be a good chopper. It was not expensive, but more costly than the Martindale. Mine came with an ill-fitting sheath. The rubber handle provides a secure grip. This knife is not as good at slashing light vegetation as the others, but it chops well enough.

Farmer: This is an amazing performer for its size and weight. This would be a good choice for hiking and backpacking. I didn't try it, but I would imagine one could even skin animals with this golok. It is the most versatile knife in this review. What a superb camp knife this would make. I went on the Farmer website and this golok with a sheath is priced comparably to the Bark River. Not bad for a custom.

Bark River: A favorite of mine. This is my "go to" yard knife golok. Like the Farmer, it is light and compact. It can chop all out of proportion to its weight. I love to trim hedges with it. It can be used as a draw knife and is great for splitting kindling, too. It's a good all-around bushcraft tool, but if you need a point for something, get the Farmer.

Condor: This inexpensive golok is a chopping machine. I love the balance and feel of it. This is my choice for bigger jobs. The handle is just a bit blocky and could use a little contouring, but I have big fat hands, so it works well for me. I love the true golok shape of the handle. It just works for chopping with power. This is without a doubt the best value here. It held its edge about as well as the more expensive ones, and has seen some hard use with no damage so far. I just wish it came with a nice leather sheath like Condor's machetes do.
 
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Great stuff Horn Dog.

Again confirming what I believe about the Martindale. The thing that attracts me to the Condor is that handle. I really want to stick one of those shapes on the Martindale. Thinning the #2 to get good deep penetration is easy for me but putting a Condor type handle on it much harder. I'm certain I can do it but working from home and being somewhat slack about how many clients I have taken on over the fine weather has meant I really have to dig deep into the self discipline to stay on the pace. Then there's the lure of the outdoors when free time does come up. But yeah, I really want to make a Micarta Condor type handle to go on the #2. I think it will improve it tremendously.
 
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Really nice review, HD, and nice pictures, too. I really like that Condor, although it's the bolo that I'm waiting for.
 
Very useful ... filled with excellent pictures and sage advice.

Thanks!:D

Guess I'll keep my BRKT Golok.;)
 
baldtaco-II said:
Great stuff Horn Dog.

Again confirming what I believe about the Martindale. The thing that attracts me to the Condor is that handle. I really want to stick one of those shapes on the Martindale. Thinning the #2 to get good deep penetration is easy for me but putting a Condor type handle on it much harder. I'm certain I can do it but working from home and being somewhat slack about how many clients I have taken on over the fine weather has meant I really have to dig deep into the self discipline to stay on the pace. Then there's the lure of the outdoors when free time does come up. But yeah, I really want to make a Micarta Condor type handle to go on the #2. I think it will improve it tremendously.
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The Martindale might be a good project knife, baldtaco-II. It will take a lot of stock removal, but if profiled like the Farmer with a good golok handle, there is no reason it cannot be made into a better golok. I have noticed that both the British goloks have softer steel than the others. I suppose that was for easier sharpening and increased toughness.
 
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Excellent review. I agree, I love my BK golok. But that David Farmer dangerous curves has got me thinking....
 
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